Summary of the daily and cumulative elevation gain and loss; daily and cumulative miles hiked for each day of the trip.

Taking a break at Three Fools Pass - Roger, Shelby, Austin, and Adam (in shadow).

Card Break heading up the Diamond Jack Trail.  Note Mosquito mask on Joel (at left)

Diamond Jack Pass & Diamond Point Beyond - Shelby taking a well earned rest.
( We traversed this pass on the CrazyMan I hike in 1996)

Looking west down Diamond Creek from ridge above Diamond Jack Pass.

Austin, Danny, Greg and Roger playing cards.  Adam, Shelby, Joel around fire

Note most of the forested area above was destroyed by  forest fires in 2003 and 2017. Only a few trees remain around the lake. Satellite image of this area showing the effects of the 2003 fire is found HERE. While the upper basin escaped the ravages of the 2003 fire, it did not escape the 2017 fire.  Now there is almost total devastation of this beautiful basin as shown HERE.

In order to avoid retracing our route back to Diamond Jack Pass, we bushwacked down "Hell Hill". Greg took a spectacular fall which wrecked his pack and left him with a piece of wood protruding from his leg.

When he rejoined the goup someone noticed a six inch piece of wood sticking out of his leg.

The Diamond Jack Trail is in the trees ahead, but we missed it by going around the end of a big switchback. We did a bit of extra climbing until we met the trail as it zigzaged back further up the hill.

Taking a break in Lake Creek. We camped  near here in 1996 in a wide spot in the trail at what became known as "A good half hour" Camp, referring to the time that Bill predicted it would take for the 4.5 hour trek to the camp.

You can see the ripples of the rising fish but the bugs were biting more than the fish so we cut our stay short.

Idyllic Lake much changed after fires have raged thru the area - see THIS trip report from 2013 by NWHikers.net member "Pasayten"

Roger heading down the trail.  Its a long long way from Fawn Lake to the Ashnola Shelter,and we were lucky to have the long days of early July for this day's hike.

After a 12.5 mile day, Shelby, Austin, and Roger prepare dinner at the Ashnola Shelter. Greg and Adam are sacked out on the bunks in the shelter.

This was the fourth time I had stayed at the shelter - '81, '84, '96, & '01.  
It feels like a place Daniel Boone might have stayed at far far from anywhere.

Shelby crossing the Ashnola River just west of the shelter. This bridge is very bouncy!

After what seems like endless switchbacks and traverses through the forest the trail breaks out into the vast meadows below Peeve Pass. As the trail climbs the views keep getting better and better.

A commercial packer operates a big "Tent city" a stones throw from here, bringing in wealthy Eastern tourists for a "Wilderness Experience"  It's a long, long ride and I'm sure there are a lot of sore butts in camp.

Sheep Mountain peeking out from behind the ridge above the trail. Our goal was Sheep Lake just over the ridge.

Danny begins his descent - Although there is a "trail" shown on the map, it is an imaginary one.  We chose to cross the ridge skirting this snowfield for a steep descent to Sheep Lake.

This route is not for the faint of heart as it descends the gully onto the talus slope below

We went down one at a time as rocks would be dislodged and roll down the hill as you descended.

Looking east to the outlet of the lake. - the fishing was good for small brook trout.

If you look closely, you can see Greg fishing near the end of the snow bank.

(Shelby meditating at fire. Greg, Danny, Roger, and Adam playing cards with Austin kibbitzing.

We followed an old sheepherders trail out of Sheep lake (beyond the trees) as it wound around Sheep Mountain.

We found this well preserved cabin which had newspaper (1960's era) chinking between the logs.

The trail soon disappears after the cabin in this vast meadow below Sheep Mountain. Looking back you can see our route near the low point on the ridge beyond (see the Africa shaped snowfield on top of ridge)

Its a broad but steep ramp up Sheep Mountain -We just traversed across the meadows heading north.

We could see the Canadian/US border - a swath cut in the trees beyond - Quite a sight, an imaginary line on a map made real. (Roger, Austin, Joel, Shelby, and Danny.

Looking East  - Cathedral Peak (left) and the broad flat summit of Bald mountain opposite & Remmel (right) . The Boundary trail passes by Cathedral Peak and climbs up over Bald Mountain, drops down to the Ashnola and climbs westward over Peeve Pass on to the Cascade Crest trail far to the west.

After traversing a while, steep slopes force us to find a way down to the Ramon Lakes Basin.  Danny and Roger search out a possible route.

After a  steep descent through the woods, we find the trail again as it goes to the Ramon Lakes.

Greg and Danny - The larger Ramon Lake is just beyond the trees.
We had a long lunch here and tried our luck in the lake (fair to good) for small trout. We wished we could stay a night but we had to keep going.

Heading out of the Ramon Lakes Basin - The trail heads north and then goes around the end of the ridge within spitting distance of the Canadian border before heading south to the Boundary Trail.

On the Ramon Lakes trail near the junction with the Boundary Trail - That's Quartz Mtn  beyond. We camped at Quartz Lake in 1996 but not this trip.  There is also a nice camp in the meadows below.

Danny climbing to a high point on the Larch Pass Trail - That's Sheep Mountain beyond.

The boys dropped their packs and climbed another 300' up to the ridge to the west.

We had hoped to get to Crow Lake (in the cirque over the ridge to the left) but we only made it to Timber Wolf creek (in the trees to the left of center).  Corral Lake lies over the ridge in a cirque below the mountain at the center.

At midnight we were wakened by a bunch of horses going down the trail in the dark. The next morning a couple of cowboys asked us if we'd seen any horses - I think they're still running!

At twilight - The card players are at it again while Shelby meditates at the campfire. Danny (beyond). Adam, Roger, Austin, and Greg playing cards. Shelby at right.

The next morning as we climbed up to Corral Lake Pass, I took a side trip over to the ridge to peer down at small Crow Lake below.- You can see Cathedral Peak beyond Bald Mtn beyond.

Roger and Danny make it to the pass - Sheep Mountain to the north and it's extensive meadows.

Danny & a token of our passing - Shelby tries his inner tube in the snow.-
They bought the tubes for a buck in Winthrop and they got their money's worth.

Descending toward McCall Gulch (look for Shelby's inner tube).  That's Two Point mountain beyond.  We climbed up McCall Gulch from the Hidden Lakes in 1998.

Danny heads down the trail.  This is at about the point that the Whistler's Notch trail takes off.

The trail below Larch Pass - Danny and Austin have just passed me.

Joel leads the goup as the trail nears the end of Larch creek Valley,  Beyond this point  the trail turns to the east to cross Diamond Creek.  This narrow rocky portion of the trail is no place to meet a horse party.